Processing, May 2018

Factory Acceptance Testing FAT is the final comprehensive set of tests that every motor must pass before it leaves the plant MAY 2018 www processingmagazine com 29 Supplying the right motor for each application When it comes to ensuring a motor is engineered to match the exact needs of its application the manufacturers expertise comes into play Customers specify the levels of performance they are targeting and the manufacturer must identify how the motor and application will work together This makes the prepurchase stage when sales staff gather detailed information about the application crucial For this reason extensive product and application training for sales personnel is necessary to enable them to ask the right questions Smart quoting tools can guide them through the process of preparing quotations To keep the information gathering process on track any technical queries that arise must be handled quickly and effectively To achieve this initial queries should be passed to a sales support unit and any issues that cannot be resolved should then be escalated to the technical support level The next level for any remaining issues is the R D unit itself This system ensures that experience and in depth knowledge of motor applications are available to the frontline sales staff and customers who need it Bearings provide a good example of why it is important to collect accurate information for the engineering stage The optimal bearing arrangement and type depend in addition to customer requirements on a range of other factors These include operating conditions like ambient temperature air cleanliness vibration levels and possible shocks affecting the bearings as well as radial and axial loads rotation speed coupling type and the type of driven equipment There are big differences between the various types of bearings in terms of their characteristics and uses and selection of the optimal bearing makes a significant difference to reliability Dimensioning of the insulation system is another field where specialized knowledge is needed A set of standardized rules for different voltage levels can help with rules that can be adapted for each case with modifications to take into account the application conditions at the installation site and customer requirements Qualifying external suppliers checking incoming materials Long term working relationships with leading suppliers are crucial ABB has published its own Supplier Requirements Guidelines that include a rigorous process for qualifying suppliers The three most important steps are an overall assessment of the potential supplier which may include a site visit an audit of the suppliers process and an assessment of the suppliers first delivery Other recommended supplier requirements may include having an ISO 9001 certified quality management system or similar system that meets the same or an equivalent standard Additionally suppliers should commit to on time and defect free delivery as well as continuous performance improvement Incoming materials and components should be frequently sampled to verify that they continue to meet the agreed specifications Effective qualification of insulation suppliers and products is essential In the case of ABB this work is centralized at the companys Insulation Laboratory in Helsinki Finland A laboratory such as this performs qualification and testing work and can develop a list of accepted suppliers and products to source insulation Quality in the manufacturing process Manufacturers with global operations need to ensure consistent quality across their different plants around the world This can be done by applying the same design rules guidelines and manufacturing instructions at all of its plants In addition to standardized rules and instructions employee training especially for employees involved in specialized areas like coil winding and insulation and testing support consistent quality in manufacturing Components and assemblies should constantly undergo quality monitoring inspections reliability evaluations and other tests as they progress through the process During manufacturing a highvoltage motor will typically pass through more than 50 separate quality control points comprising hundreds of individual inspections The results of these tests are fed back into the engineering tools i e the software used to dimension motors to ensure that the designs are continuously improved Insulation is a crucial aspect of manufacturing from a reliability standpoint To achieve this manufacturers may use a system such as the Micadur Compact Industry MCI insulation system which is based on vacuum pressure impregnation VPI of mica materials A specially formulated epoxy resin is used to produce a sealed and homogenous insulation system with good performance in terms of dielectric strength heat transfer and elimination of partial discharge factors that promote high reliability Testing related to the insulation system includes close monitoring of the impregnation process curing times and pressure levels ABB has used the MCI insulation system for several decades and it has gone into tens of thousands of large motors and generators Over this time there have been no known primary insulation failures due to thermal aging Thermal lifetime tests confirm that the endurance of the MCI system comfortably exceeds the requirements of International Electrotechnical Commission IEC and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE standards The final test Factory Acceptance Testing FAT is the final comprehensive set of tests that every motor must pass before it leaves the plant FAT verifies that the motor meets the customer specifications and the application requirements It is also recommended to give customer representatives the option of attending the tests in person or via an online FAT system The results are compiled in a report that is supplied together with the motor See Table 2 for an example of ABBs three separate levels of testing Combined tests can also be run with the customers own variable Opposite When it comes to ensuring a motor is engineered to match the exact needs of its application the manufacturers expertise comes into play Factory Acceptance Testing FAT is the final comprehensive set of tests that every motor must pass before it leaves the plant FAT verifies that the motor meets the customer specifications and the application requirements ABBs test field is fully equipped to perform three separate levels of testing and combined tests can also be run with the customers own variable speed drive VSD and transformer All images courtesy of ABB

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